La Rentrée

Oak + Fort tank (c/o) (similar)
Zara skirt (similar)
Dune London mules
Looks Like Summer clutch (similar)
Zara sunglasses (similar)
Stella & Dot necklace
Linjer ring (c/o) (similar)
Location: Osborne Village – Winnipeg, Manitoba

In France, back-to-school is known as la rentrée. The concept encompasses far more than just a return to classes, although it’s easy to mistake the two terms for synonyms. La rentrée isn’t just for school children. The French, who take holiday time seriously, traditionally take vacation for the month of August – the country largely shuts down and people flock to the sunny south to enjoy four weeks in the sun. Beaches are positively packed with holidaymakers.

And then, in September, they all return home, and to work. Which means la rentrée is a homecoming, and return to routine, for people of all ages.

Since I left school, I haven’t thought much about the back-to-school season, except when we lived in France. In 2012, we arrived just in time for la rentrée, and it was fascinating to observe an entire nation return, with renewed enthusiasm and energy, to their pursuits at once. The sense of collective excitement was palpable. Everyone at once seemed to feel refreshed and ready to take on the world. Imagine, I thought to myself, how inspiring and productive the month of September could be if we took a similar approach to life in North America.

But we don’t. La rentrée is an event for school children, while the rest of us take our breaks in fits and spurts throughout the year, often never truly disconnecting. The idea is that we start January refreshed and renewed after the holidays. But Christmas and New Year’s never really feels restful; most years, I get back to work still stuffed from a month of parties and dinners, in need of a period of recovery from all the celebration. What makes matters worse is that it’s the middle of winter – the hours of daylight are so short at the time of year, and it’s hard to feel like you can take on a world you can’t even see most of the time.

This year, in some ways, feels different. We are, in some ways, emerging from our pandemic cocoons, fully vaccinated and able, to some degree, to resume life. It’s true that I haven’t taken a vacation yet. But this past week got me thinking about la rentrée in the French sense because suddenly, life was happening again. From Wednesday through Sunday, I had plans everyday… sometimes more than one set within the same day. The abrupt return to a normal pace of life surprised me. I expected to be tired after so many months of doing so little, but I had reserves of energy I didn’t realise were there.

Maybe, I found myself musing as the weekend ended, the last eighteen months have served, in some ways, like a very long (and dull period) of vacation. Maybe, as life resumes, we will find ourselves more inspired to creativity, more filled with new ideas and purpose, than we ever did before. (That’s how the French always seem to me, during la rentrée. Reinvigorated. Ready for action. And sufficiently rested to be able to sacrifice sleep for the next several months.) The pandemic is far from over, but we are beginning to live again. And maybe this return has the potential to be collectively wonderful, if we approach it with a sense of openness and positive energy.

Here’s hoping.

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